Billy Wilder has directed such stars as Marilyn Monroe. He directed her in The Seven Year Itch, and Some Like It Hot. He was not a huge fan of directing the star because she had such a huge demand as far as treatment goes. But in this film, Wilder chose a Monroe like characters throughout this movie. You can spot them easily during your watch. You will also note that Billy Wilder's trademarks character name is Sheldrake, which he also uses in Sunset Blvd. and Kiss Me, Stupid. The person he chose for Sheldrake was Paul Douglas but he died of a heart attack before filming began. He died while eating breakfast before his flight to the Coast for this movie. He lived in New York at the time. Shirley MacLaine filmed her famous cameo in Ocean's Eleven while on break from this movie. You will also note that the Christmas scene was filmed on December 23, 1959, everyone was in the mood for the holiday and it made the Christmas feel more real. Which is pretty neat.

We follow a young man, C. C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon). He's lonely as he works for an insurance company in New York City. He's a hard worker who happens to loan his apartment out to four of his executives for a little after date love in the sack. Baxter is unhappy about the way he is used but never confronts his coworkers as unhappy as he is. He is not always able to sleep well, and ends up with a cold. His neighbors believe it is him making all that noise. They also believe that his body is an iron to make all of that noise almost every night, and he also must be the person they hear drinking all the time too. His big boss calls him into his office to talk about his apartment loans. The boss is Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray). It is comical and it almost sounds like he is about to be fired. But all of his managers write great reports about how great Baxter is to Mr. Sheldrake. However he does realize what is going on. Sheldrake gives Baxter two tickets for The Music Man. When all of a sudden, Sheldrake asks for a chance at his apartment too. The elevator operator catches Baxter's eye and he wants to go on a date with her. She is Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine). She just recently cuts her hair short and Baxter notices and makes a comment on how cute the cut is. Hopefully they end up dating because they would sure be a cute couple. At the Christmas party, Baxter realizes that another man is after a relationship with Kubelik, the man is Sheldrake. What is Baxter going to do? He was sworn not to reveal that Sheldrake is also using his apartment but the girl he wants is going to end up to his apartment with his boss. Kubelik does realize that she is the mistress to Sheldrake. By the end of the movie we get to hear the famous final line "Shut up and deal." Who says it? Hopefully Baxter does to Kubelik. This is a very cute movie. And a funny one at that. Of course it is with Jack Lemmon leading the movie along. Shirley MacLaine is a great actress. I hope you enjoy this classic as much as I have.